Even though you may not have realised it, you probably have made some statistical statements in your everyday conversation or thinking. Statements like "I sleep for about eight hours per night on average" and "You are more likely to pass the exam if you start preparing earlier" are actually statistical in nature.
Statistical Consulting Centre
The Statistical Consulting Centre provides statistical services to business, industry, government and the academic world.
The Statistical Consulting Centre provide personal consultations via Zoom video link, telephone or face to face. We have conducted many remote consultations successfully and look forward to working with you.
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Consulting to Business, Industry & Government
We have experience across a broad range of statistical applications, and we offer help with all aspects of data-based research. Our consultants have Masters or PhD degrees in statistics. All are accredited with the Statistical Society of Australia (AStat or GStat).
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Statistics Courses
Short courses for the Public, Business, professionals, academics and graduate researchers.Specialised and bespoke courses, workshops and seminars.
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News
Ian Gordon talks to Significance and What's a statistician doing in Court?
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Graduate Researchers and Staff
The Statistical Consulting Centre provides high-quality advice on statistical methods to graduate research students and staff at the University of Melbourne.
We have expertise in:
- questionnaire design and data collection methods
- study design, for experiments and surveys
- choice of sample size
- data management and verification
- analysis strategies
- modelling of data
- data mining and analytics
- interpretation of analyses and statistical reasoning
- communication of statistical findings, tailored to the audience
- quality graphical presentations
- critical review of quantitative research and reasoning
- statistical software
- expert witness needs
- statistics courses tailored to specific needs
- Statistical software packages including GenStat, Minitab, SPSS,STATA and R.
The SCC was formed in 1984 and has continued to build on its reputation across all disciplines. Our aim is to realise the potential and complexities of your data. We deal with real world issues in a practical, robust manner.
Our aims are to:
- Be a focus for the long-standing statistical consulting activities of the School of Mathematics and Statistics;
- Promote the practice of appropriate and informative statistical methods;
- Be a stimulus to relevant teaching in the School of Mathematics and Statistics;
- Provide research problems whose solutions are of immediate practical interest;
- Train advanced students;
- Increase the awareness of the utility of statistical expertise;
- Foster mutually beneficial contacts between the University and the wider community;
- Act as a focus for statistical consultancy within the University.
- Address
- Statistical Consulting Centre
- 139 Barry St
The University of Melbourne
Parkville Victoria 3010
Australia
- Email Deb
- dmai@unimelb.edu.au
- Phone
- +61 3 8344 6995
Transport to The University of Melbourne
Trams are conveniently located on Swanston Street, the Centre encourages sustainable forms of transport.
The University of Melbourne is tram stop number 1 on Swanston Street or Royal Parade stops then walk down on Grattan Street to Barry Street. Opposite University Square park.
Meet the Statistical Consulting Centre team
- Professor Ian Gordon
Director
Phone: 03 8344 6995
- Associate Professor
Sue FinchDeputy Director
Phone: 03 8344 6994
- Dr Sandy Clarke-Errey
Consultant
Phone: 03 8344 6797
- Christian Davey
Consultant
christian.davey @unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 03 8344 8201
- Associate Professor
Graham HepworthConsultant
Phone: 03 8344 4796
- Cameron Patrick
Consultant
cameron.patrick@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: 03 8344 5295
- Dr Ken Sharpe
Consultant
- Deb Maillardet
Administrative Officer
Phone: 03 8344 6995
What is statistics?
Statistics is a discipline which is concerned with:
- designing experiments and other data collection,
- summarizing information to aid understanding,
- drawing conclusions from data, and
- estimating the present or predicting the future.
The two statements at the beginning illustrate some of these points.
In making predictions, Statistics uses the companion subject of Probability, which models chance mathematically and enables calculations of chance in complicated cases.
Today, statistics has become an important tool in the work of many academic disciplines such as medicine, psychology, education, sociology, engineering and physics, just to name a few. Statistics is also important in many aspects of society such as business, industry and government. Because of the increasing use of statistics in so many areas of our lives, it has become very desirable to understand and practise statistical thinking. This is important even if you do not use statistical methods directly.
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Medicine
Medicine: applications of statistics, toxic orange juice, Sunlight and skin cancer, Rubella in pregnancy, random surgical operations.
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Science
Science: applications of statistics in the following topics, clover leaves, fire-fighters, family heights, Melbourne weather, german tanks in WW2.
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Statistics
General applications of statistics, What is P-Value?, question wording, shuffling cards, phone-in polls, survey precision.
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Sport
Statistics in sport such as Sydney to Hobart yacht race and AFL draws.
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Finance
Finance: applications of statistics, making chocolate, consumption of chocolate in Australia, 1 and 2 cent coins.
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Stats Facts
Some stats facts: elephants and pointing, Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind, Pies and dougnuts, statistical graphs.
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Research
Research and the SCC
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Statistics Courses
Short courses for the Public, Business, professionals, academics and graduate researchers.Specialised and bespoke courses, workshops and seminars.